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Gray Petaltail (male terminal appendages)

“Bender,” my nickname for a male Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) with a malformed abdomen, is featured in the following set of annotated photos.

06 JUN 2018 | Northern Virginia | Gray Petaltail (male)

All male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers,” that are used to grab and hold female dragonflies during mating: an upper pair of cerci (“superior appendages”) and a lower unpaired epiproct (“inferior appendage”).

Gray Petaltail males have “indented” hind wings, as shown in the last photo.

06 JUN 2018 | Northern Virginia | Gray Petaltail (male)

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This entry was posted on September 20, 2018 at 4:00 am and is filed under Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, education, How To, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, Photoshop, wildlife photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Gray Petaltail (male terminal appendages)”

  1. Bonding with Bender | walter sanford's photoblog Says:
    November 7, 2018 at 4:01 am | Reply

    […] a Gray Petaltail dragonfly perched on my Cabela’s Safari Series vest. This individual is a male that I nicknamed “Bender” because of his malformed […]

  2. New Life List additions in 2018 (odonates) | walter sanford's photoblog Says:
    December 28, 2018 at 4:09 am | Reply

    […] Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) was spotted at a forested seep. This individual is a male with a malformed abdomen that I nicknamed […]

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